First MH17 dead to be flown to Netherlands from Ukraine

According to BBC News, The first bodies recovered from the Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in Ukraine last week are to be flown to the Netherlands for identification.

The Netherlands is holding a day of mourning for the 298 killed in the 17 July crash, 193 of whom were Dutch.

Meanwhile, US intelligence officials say pro-Russian rebels shot down the jet by mistake, but they have not found any direct link to Russia.

The plane crashed in a rebel-held area after apparently being hit by a rocket.

A refrigerated train carriage carrying about 200 bodies from the crash site arrived in the government-held city of Kharkiv on Tuesday.

Investigators said they would continue to search the crash site for more bodies.

Forty coffins were laid out at the airport on Wednesday morning, and will be taken to the Netherlands on two separate flights.

The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Kharkiv says ambassadors, officials and soldiers have gathered to see off the first plane.

Australian government envoy Angus Houston said the ceremony was intended to give the victims the "respect and dignity they deserve" after a "tragedy of unspeakable proportions".

The first flight is due to arrive in Eindhoven at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Members of the Dutch royal family and the Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet the plane. The bodies are then due to be taken to the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks for identification.

Mr Rutte said that process could take months.

In a separate process, the "black box" flight-data recorders from MH17 have been handed to Dutch authorities by Malaysian officials. The devices will be sent to Farnborough in the UK for analysis.